Top Stories, May 1st

Appleton Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

5/1/11 - A 22-year-old Appleton man died from wounds he suffered Thursday while serving in Afghanistan. Army Sgt. Matthew D. Hermanson was just over a week away from celebrating his first wedding anniversary. The Defense Department said yesterday that Hermanson’s unit took on small arms fire in the Wardak province in the east-central portion of the country.

Dem’s Attempt to Revive High Speed Rail

5/1/11 - Supporters of high-speed rail in Wisconsin are making another pitch for it, despite Governor Scott Walker’s intense opposition. The Republican Walker had not even taken office last fall when he convinced the Obama White House to take back 810-million-dollars for a high-speed train from Milwaukee-to-Madison. But Assembly Democrat Brett Hulsey of Madison is touting a new study by the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association which says that a line from Detroit-to-Saint Louis-to-Minnesota’s Twin Cities could generate 13-billion dollars for the region. Hulsey said if Wisconsin doesn’t get on board, the train would go around us and quote, “It would be like not having Interstate highways in Wisconsin.” Walker has contended that not many people would pay over 30-bucks one way to ride the rails from Milwaukee-to-Madison – and it’s faster and cheaper to drive. There was a stop planned in Watertown. But with gas nearing four-dollars-a-gallon, Steve Hiniker of the environmental group One-Thousand-Friends of Wisconsin says Walker might want to sing a different tune. Hiniker also said riders would be more comfortable, and they can get work done on-line. Assembly Democrat Lou Molepske of Stevens Point said Walker’s fellow Republican Tommy Thompson once championed high-speed rail. But Walker has said that Thompson governed in economic boom times, while he has to deal with a budget that’s three-and-a-half billion dollars in the hole. Walker does support funding to improve an existing Amtrak high-speed line from Milwaukee-to-Chicago.

BDCH Launches New Website

5/1/11 - The Beaver Dam Community Hospital has announced the launching of a new medical clinics website. Officials say the site features intuitive, user-friendly navigation and allows visitors to browse clinic locations, read physician profiles, including patient testimonials and patient survey results, learn of upcoming events and catch up on recent news. The site also includes an updated list of all physicians on staff. The effort marks the beginning of a project which will culminate in the complete redesign of the hospitals general website, bdch.com. The medical services website is www.bdchmedicalclinics.com.

Beaver Dam Bulk Pick-Up Begins Monday

5/1/11 – Bulk garbage pick-up for Beaver Dam residents begins tomorrow, Monday, May 2. Director of Facilities David Stoiser says bulk pick-up will continue through Friday, May 6 for residents who receive city-provided waste collection services from Veolia. Stoiser says the collection regulations are the same as in the past. Bulk waste can be placed on the curb no sooner than 24 hours prior to each collection and by 7am on the day of pick-up. Bulk waste is defined as, but not limited to, furniture, wooden doors and windows and rolled carpet, not exceeding 4’ to 6’ in length. No metal items like bed springs, doors, windows, appliances and pipes will be collected. Also, they do not accept bundled or loose piles of lumber or building materials; those items must be broken down and placed in the weekly collection cart. The next bulk pick-up will be the first waste collection day of November.

Madison School Officials Detail Protest Absences

5/1/11 - Madison school officials say that two-thirds of its teachers actively took part in at least one day of a coordinated protest absence in February. Schools in Wisconsin’s capital were closed for four days, so unionized teachers could attend rallies against the bill to curtail most public union bargaining. The district said almost 18-hundred of Madison’s 26-hundred-plus teachers took unpaid time off for at least one of the four days. Eighty-four teachers submitted false medical excuses from doctors in lab coats who were handing them out on street corners at the Capitol. But 46 teachers later rescinded those excuses. And they got the same penalty as other 18-hundred teachers – lost pay and a letter-of-expectation from school officials. The 38 who did not rescind their false doctors’ excuses were given suspensions, which they already served based on their time off. Madison Superintendent Dan Nerad says the numbers validate the district’s decision to close for four days.

Crane Advocates Upset With Sentence

5/1/11 - Advocates for Wisconsin’s whooping cranes were not happy that an Indiana man and a teenager only got one year of probation for killing a crane in 2009. But the prosecutor in the case – Gregory Carter – said they tried to find out who should have received restitution, and that question was never answered. Also, Carter said a staff member from the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service was at every court hearing in the case, and that person never indicated that the cases were handled inappropriately. Wade Bennett and a juvenile were each convicted in the shooting death of a Wisconsin whooping crane that was part of a long-running program to re-introduce the endangered species in the Eastern U-S. The crane was the first in the program to successfully hatch a chick in the wild. Carter said his office learned the crane could have been worth 100-thousand dollars – and they deferred the issue of restitution to see if anyone could legitimately make a financial claim.

A Horse of a Different Color

5/1/11 - Officials with the Beaver Dam Area Arts Association say there has been a good turnout for their spring exhibit. “The Horse in Art” showcases the artwork of regionally and nationally recognized equine artists. Among others it features the photography of Waupun’s Polly Knoll. Knoll has traveled the world shooting her favorite film subject: Arabian horses. She recently published a career retrospective. Among the pictures in “Treasurers of a Lifetime” is a photo shoot with the late actor Patrick Swayze that produced some iconic images. The Beaver Dam Area Arts Association is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 1pm to 4pm. “The Horse In Art” runs through June 5.

More Shoppers Clipping Coupons

5/1/11 - Food shoppers are changing their behaviors to fight back at rising prices. The Center for Food Integrity says 37-percent of shoppers in a recent survey are clipping more coupons. Thirty-two percent are buying fewer name-brand items in favor of the cheaper house brands. And 17-percent have gone to warehouse-and-discount stores to try and keep their food bills down. The Farm Bureau says Wisconsin’s food prices jumped five-percent in the first quarter of the year alone. The federal government says almost 13-percent of our income is spent on food – up from around 11-percent in the recent past. Iowa State economics professor Helen Jensen tells the Brownfield Ag News Service that Americans are still getting a bargain on food compared to other countries. But people might be facing a realization that what they spend on food will no longer be as low as it used to be. Jensen says people do not blame farmers for the price hikes – but there’s some frustration as to why it’s happening. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau has cited a strong worldwide demand for U-S food products, bad weather that has kept supplies down, and higher fuel costs for transporting the food to grocery stores.

Recession Hitting Older Workers Hardest

5/1/11 - The recession is hitting many of Wisconsin’s older workers the hardest. U-W Madison law school attorney Victor Forberger says that if the economy was really recovering, firms would be looking to older-and-experienced employees to get up to speed more quickly. Forberger is a consultant to a job transition program. He tells the Madison Capital Times this is the first time that large numbers of people 50-and-older are out-of-work and looking someplace else. Just over 20-percent of Wisconsin workers 55-and-older were getting unemployment benefits at the start of the year. That’s a 19-percent increase from 2006. U-W career counselor Sybil Pressprich tells the Cap Times quote, “I see frustration with a capital-F.” She runs a job search support group – and a larger percentage of participants are getting to be 50-and-older. The Urban Institute of Washington says many employers are reluctant to hire older workers because they’ll retire before their training pays off – they fear their health-and-pension costs are too high – and some think older people are not willing to learn new things. But Madison college counselor Al Studesville says employers are missing out. He says older workers are more dependable – they don’t need as much supervision – and many more creative at solving problems.

Wisconsin Pays Gopher State Tuition Bill

5/1/11 - Wisconsin paid 13-million-dollars to Minnesota after the 2009 school year, so college students from the Badger State could pay in-state tuition at schools in Minnesota. The same deal applies to students from the Gopher State at Wisconsin colleges, under a reciprocity program that has gone on for 43 years. Normally, each state pays something to the other. But in 2009, Wisconsin made its largest payment since at least 1975 – while Minnesota didn’t owe the Badger State anything. That’s according to Minnesota’s Office of Higher Education. Colleges in the Gopher State tend to be more expensive than those in Wisconsin – and that’s why the Badger State ended up with a much larger payment. Just over 10-thousand Wisconsinites attended college in Minnesota in 2009, while 14-thousand Minnesotans went to schools in Wisconsin. The reciprocity arrangement is totally different from the income tax reciprocity between the two states that’s gotten a lot of publicity. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty ended the income tax reciprocity in 2009 – and there have been efforts by some in both states to bring it back.

DNR Urges Private Well Testing

5/1/11 - The state D-N-R says the owners of private wells should test their water for bacteria, as soon as spring arrives for good. Officials say flooding in parts of Wisconsin can lead to higher contaminations of well water. And the spring thaw often creates more bacteria, as melting snow soaks into the soil. The D-N-R says well-water might be polluted if its taste or color changes – or if the well has a shallow casing, and is near a place where it flooded. Experts urge well-owners to conduct tests once a year – and they suggest more frequent tests near animal feed-lots, farm fields, and manure storage facilities.

Top Stories, April 30th

Wambach Recognized For Cold Case Prosecution

4/30/11 - The Assistant Attorney General responsible for putting a Randolph man behind bars in a 30-old murder case has been named Prosecutor of the Year. David Wambach, a former Jefferson County District Attorney, was recognized with the honor Thursday night at the annual conference of the Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators. Wambach was singled out for his involvement with the Marilyn McIntyre Cold Case homicide. According to Awards Chairman Steve Brinza, Wambach received several nominations for his inspired work on the case. McIntyre was 18 years of age when she was brutally beaten, strangled and stabbed in her home while her three month old son slept nearby. The case was investigated in 1980 and after a few years went cold. The case was reopened by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office in late 2007. In March 2009, Curtis Forbes – a long time family friend of McIntyre’s – was arrested. Forbes was found guilty last November by a Jefferson County jury sitting in Columbia County Circuit Court and sentenced to life in prison. Wambach called the recognition “a team award” and commended law enforcement for refusing to let the case die. CBS’s program 48 Hours will feature the McIntyre case on Saturday night at 9pm.

Stolen Pick-Up Damages Randolph Business

4/30/11 - A 15-year-old boy is in custody on charges that he stole a pick-up and crashed into a Randolph business. It happened Thursday evening just after 5:30pm. The Chevy truck damaged Fred’s Service Center at the intersection of Highway 73 and Columbus Street. There were no injuries. The teen fled into some nearby fields but was apprehended a short time later. Authorities say there was no evidence of alcohol or drug use and the cause of the accident is being attributed to reckless driving. He also struck a parked car on Stark Street just prior to the accident. The owner of the stolen truck reported several weeks ago that the keys had been stolen from the truck. The boy was referred to Human Services because of his age. The Randolph Police Department and Dodge County Sheriffs Department are investigating.

Recall Petition Certification Deadline Extended

4/30/11 - Department of Justice Attorney Lewis Beilin asked a judge to extend the deadline to certify recall petitions filed against members of the Wisconsin Senate. Beilin says the process of checking signatures in recall efforts now filed against nine senators has caused an extraordinary burden. Dane County Judge John Markson agreed that the agency has been making “all best efforts” to get the work done, and granted an extension that gives the GAB until the end of May to address challenges to the recall petitions and to certify them. The Judge also ruled that eight of the recall elections can be held on the same day, if the petitions are valid. The decision means voters in those districts would likely head to the polls on July 12th. Friday’s decision does not impact a recall petition filed this week against state Senator Robert Cowles (R-Green Bay). If those signatures result in an election, the GAB says it will be held at a later date.

Columbus Council, School Board Members Seated

4/30/11 - New Members were seated on the 2011 – 2012 City Council and School Board in Columbus this week. The Council saw veteran Bill Bruns leave his seat as District 3 Alderman after five years. Larry Herzog Jr. was seated as Bruns’ replacement. Dave Bomkamp was elected as President of the six-Member Council. Meanwhile, William Braun and Kevin White will be filling the seats vacated by Julia Hoffmann and Alice Schmidt on the School Board. Liz O’Donnell was returned to her seat as Board President In the voting for Board officers.

New Strip Mall Under Construction In Beaver Dam

4/30/11 - A new strip mall is under construction in Beaver Dam. City building inspector John Moosreiner says the unit in the Frances Point Shopping Mall near Wal-Mart will include four storefronts. US Cellular is moving into one of the spaces, while a beauty products store is planned in another space. There is currently no one lined up for the other two storefronts.

Johnson Calls Ryan Plan ‘Courageous’

4/30/11 - U.S. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin calls the budget plan offered by his fellow Republican, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, courageous. Ryan says his budget would cut federal government budget deficits by more than six trillion dollars over the next decade. Johnson says he can't say he would support it if it reached the Senate floor because there is no way to know how it might be changed in the version he would get to vote on. Johnson says he is more interested in a constitutional amendment that would limit government spending to a set percentage of the nation's gross domestic product.

Neumann’s To Appeal Reckless Homicide Convictions

4/30/11 - Marathon County Judge Vincent Howard has refused to grant Dale and Leilani Neumann a new trial. The parents will likely challenge the ruling to the Third District Court of Appeals. They argued they were hurt by ineffective counsel. Jurors separately convicted the Neumanns in 2009 of reckless homicide for failing to seek medical help for their 11-year-old daughter Madeline Kara as she died from a treatable case of diabetes on Easter Sunday 2008. Attorneys on both sides had already agreed to appeal Howard’s decision refusing to dismiss the charges based on a faith healing defense. He did not address it in his 16-page ruling. But Howard ruled that trial attorneys Gene Linehan and Jay Kronenwetter were not ineffective for failing to challenge a religious instruction given to jurors or for failing to ask for a specific theory of defense instruction.

Researchers Applaud Stem Cell Change

4/30/11 - The director of the University of Wisconsin Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center calls it the best news researchers could have hoped for. A federal appeals court has supported funding for embryonic stem cell research. The ruling means the University of Wisconsin stands to get about five million dollars in federal funding for research efforts. In a 2-1 decision Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., overturned a judge's order that would have blocked taxpayer funding for stem cell research. The question figures to be in the courts for decisions and appeals for some time into the future.

Companies, City Ordered To Pay $97M Cleanup

4/30/11 - A Superfund site on Lake Superior’s shore is a step closer to getting cleaned up. And more than a century’s worth of coal-tar and chemical pollution on Ashland’s waterfront is being laid in the laps of four responsible parties, including the City of Ashland itself. The EPA has named Canadian National Railroad, the Soo Line Railroad, Xcel Energy, and the city of Ashland as liable to pay the clean-up costs, up to $97-million. EPA Project Manager Scott Hansen says there’ll be 120 days for all sides to hash out who will pay what.

Arbor Day Observed

4/30/11 – Friday’s Arbor Day celebration in Columbus had around 80 students from the Discovery Charter School taking part in tree planting ceremony in front of the downtown Community Center. Teachers, students and city officials were on hand to hear Mayor Bob Link read the annual Arbor Day proclamation. The State Street Maple was set in the terrace and the students took turns using golden shovels to spread the dirt. Although many students were just learning the concept of environmental practices, all of them enjoyed getting into the dirt.

Top Stories April 29th

Airport Zoning Revisions Please Nearby Homeowners

4/29/11 - A collective sigh of relief from the property owners near the Dodge County Airport in Juneau. Proposed zoning restrictions could have made their homes worthless. However, after public outcry, the Airport Zoning Technical Advisory Committee last night announced revisions to their Overlay Zoning Ordinance. The ordinance itself is needed for a variety of reasons, like for public safety and planning possible future expansion of the airport. Once approved, it will basically establish acceptable structures and land uses within a three-mile radius around the airport, both on the ground and in the air. Early drafts of the ordinance would have held nearby homeowners to the "fifty-percent rule," prohibiting them from spending more than half of their homes assessed value on improvements, ultimately devaluing their property and making their homes worthless. Tami Braband (brey-band) owns a house on Sunset Road, not far from Runway 220, in a "high impact zone." Braband says she was pleased that the committee listened to their feedback and she says they made some great changes. Airport Zoning Committee Chair Pete Thompson says they've had a lot of public input since the process began, going through six different versions of the zoning map and four drafts of the ordinance. He assured the crowd of three dozen residents that under the ordinance, existing homes would still be able to make improvements without fear of restrictions. The Zoning Overlay Ordinance now heads to the Highway Committee, the public hearing phase and finally the county board, though all the property owners we spoke with say they are content and believe their concerns have been addressed.

Langfeldt Has Cash Bond Set At $100K

4/29/11 - Cash bond was set at $100,000 for a 36-year-old man Columbus man who authorities say ran into a parked car, a utility pole and several street signs before being pulled from the drivers seat by the sheriff of Dodge County. Tony Langfeldt has been formally charged with felony OWI and misdemeanor Operating After Revocation for the incident in Fox Lake on Tuesday. Because he is being considered a repeat offender, Langfeldt could spend a maximum of 13 years behind bars if he is convicted. A preliminary hearing is set for June.

Collective Bargaining Could Go Into State Budget

4/29/11 - If the State Supreme Court does not legalize the collective bargaining limits for public employee unions, the measure will possibly be put into the next state budget. That's according to a spokesman for Senate G-O-P leader Scott Fitzgerald. The possibility of a second approval was vaguely brought up earlier this week in the Joint Finance Committee. Fitzgerald spokesman Andrew Welhouse yesterday (Th) gave the Madison Capital Times the most definitive statement yet on the matter. Welhouse said Supreme Court was quote, "the preferred avenue" for implementing the union bargaining limits. And if that doesn't happen, Welhouse says G-O-P leaders have informally decided that it will be inserted into the 2011-to-2013 budget. Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi has blocked the adoption of the law, until she can decide if legislators broke the state's Open Meeting Law when they passed it on March ninth. The state Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to step in and make the union limits legal. Sumi has said the Legislature could easily settle the lawsuit by passing the measure again, with the required public notice. But Republicans have hesitated, fearing a second round of major protests that helped drive down G-O-P Governor Scott Walker's popularity ratings. If the union limits do go into the budget, Welhouse said a finance committee member will insert them before the package is approved there - or they could be introduced as an amendment just before the full Assembly acts on the budget this summer.

Carriage Festival Gets Seed Money

4/29/11 - The 2011 "Columbus Horse & Carriage Festival" was given "seed money" and go ahead approval by the Common Council this week. The show will be funded by two $5,000 dollar Room Tax grants. The Festival replaces the former June Carriage "Classic." The Festival event is being organized by a new group of volunteers. The Festival will be held at Fireman's' Park on Father's Day. Responses from drivers and event sponsors indicate a rekindled interest in Columbus as a venue for this Horse and Carriage event.

Walker Names Natural Resources Members

4/29/11 - Governor Scott Walker has named three new members to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board. The Republican Walker says they'll represent agriculture, hunters, and the business community on the board that sets policies for the D-N-R. The new members are Bill Bruins, former president of the state's Farm Bureau Federation - Terry Hilgenberg, former president of the Wisconsin Realtors Association - and Gregory Kazmierski, who co-founded the state Hunters' Rights Coalition. They'll replace three members whose terms expire on Sunday - board chairman Jonathan Ela, former state agriculture secretary Gary Rohde, and John Welter.

Drug Drops Planned Tomorrow

4/29/11 - Several Dodge County communities are participating in the nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day tomorrow (Saturday). The effort is aimed at removing drugs from the streets and promoting the proper disposal of prescription medications. The Beaver Dam Police Department will be collecting pharmaceuticals from 10am to 2pm in the department's parking lot located just off Washington Street. The Horicon Police Department will host the "Take Back" from 9am until noon at the Public Safety Building on Ellison Street. The Juneau Police Department collect meds at the police department on East Cross Street from 10am until 2pm. The Watertown, Waterloo and Waupun police departments are also hosting drug drops. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Medications should be brought in their original containers with personal identification removed. Drug take-back programs are intended to reduce the amount of drugs available for theft, or accidental poisoning but are also helpful in keeping those meds out of the water supply. Last year, during the first "Take Back," the Drug Enforcement Agency collected 121 tons of drugs at 4100 sites operated by the DEA's state and local law enforcement partners.

Top Stories April 28th

Former Fox Lake Police Chief Jury Trial Set

4/28/11 - An October trial date has been set in the stalking and child molestation case against former Fox Lake Police Chief Pat Lynch. The 55-year-old was originally charged with one count of First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child Under the Age of 13, but based on information that came to light during the preliminary hearing, two more counts were added during an arraignment hearing in mid-February. The alleged assault of the 7-year-old child would have occurred in the summer of 1989 at home in Randolph. The victim’s father was friends with Lynch, who was an officer with the Randolph Police Department at the time. The victim says, years later, Lynch kept showing up where she worked and would drive his police car past her home. Lynch is charged with three felony Stalking counts in total, as he is also accused of stalking a woman who used to work for the Fox Lake Police Department – as well as a man who was dating his ex-wife. Lynch resigned from his job as police chief in Fox Lake in the spring of 2009. A motion hearing was scheduled yesterday for this June with the jury trial scheduled to begin on October 17.

Nehls Pulls Fleeing Suspect From Car

4/28/11 - A 36-year-old man was arrested Tuesday night for his sixth OWI after authorities say he ran into a utility poll, a parked car and a traffic sign. Dispatchers received several calls around 6pm that an erratic driver was heading east on Highway 33 towards Fox Lake. Sheriff Todd Nehls says 37-year-old Tony Langfeldt hit the utility poll in the 100 block of Mill Street, struck a car a few blocks later and finally struck a sign before getting stuck in a ditch just west of the city. Nehls was in the area and got to the scene in time to pull Langfeldt from his vehicle as he was allegedly attempting to drive away again. In addition to OWI, Langfeldt is facing charges of hit and run, operating without a valid driver’s license, open intoxicants and violation of probation. Langfeldt’s most recent OWI conviction came in 2009.

Bens Cleared Again In Child Care Injury

4/28/11 - A child care supervisor from Campbellsport was cleared for a second time Wednesday of allegations that she severely injured a 10-month-old girl. The state’s Second District Court of Appeals upheld a circuit judge’s ruling that threw out a criminal case against Mary Benz. The appellate judges agreed that the 52-year-old Benz was denied the right to a speedy trial. She was charged in 2008 with felony child abuse, failing to report abuse to authorities, and obstructing officers. That was after a baby girl at a Random Lake day-care center suffered vaginal injuries so severe that she needed surgery. After several delays, Benz finally went on trial in November of 2009. Four days later, a mistrial was declared. A second trial was supposed to begin last year, but Circuit Judge Terrence Bourke threw out the charges due to the long delay. In a nine-page ruling, the appeals court said quote, “materials had been discarded, memories faded, and Benz’s mental condition was deteriorating to the point she would no longer have been able to testify in her own defense.”

ALA Gives Dodge County Average Grade

4/28/11 - The American Lung Association is giving Dodge County a grade of “C” again this year for the levels of smog and soot in the air. Spokeswoman Dona Wininsky says the “State of the Air 2011” report uses EPA data from 2007 through 2009 from official monitors for ozone and particle pollution, the two most widespread types of air pollution. Wininsky says grades for the county and the state remained virtually unchanged from last year. This year’s report, however, finds that the majority of American cities most-polluted by ozone or year-round particle pollution have improved. All counties along the lake from Kenosha to Door continue to receive an “F” for ozone levels, which is a widespread air pollutant created by the reaction of sunlight on emissions from vehicles and industry that is carried north by weather patterns. Ozone can irritate the lungs resulting in wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and even premature death. Fond du Lac and Sauk counties got a “B” while Washington County received an “A” and even made the top 25 list of cleanest counties for ozone.

Columbus Buys Back Undeveloped Land

4/28/11 - The Columbus City Council and Community Development Authority (CDA) took action Tuesday night on the repurchase of the property on the northwest side of highway 151 at the intersection with highways 16 and 60. The property was sold for development in a 2007 agreement between the City and Columbus Commerce Center LLC. That agreement called for the completion of $3 million dollars in development by January 1st of this year. The Council voted 4 to 1 and the CDA voted 4 to 0 to act on the repurchase option in the terms of the three year-old agreement. The Council and CDA repurchase decision came after three months of closed session negotiations with the Developer.

Recount Underway

4/28/11 - County clerks throughout Wisconsin on Wednesday began a statewide recount of the ballots from the April fifth Supreme Court election. The process started at nine a-m at courthouses in all 72 counties, that includes Dodge County. Things got off to a rough start in Waukesha County. That’s because a bag of ballots cast in the town of Brookfield on April fifth did not have matching identification numbers as required. It was noted that the number of a bag-seal was not the same as what was listed on a recorded form. But observers for both candidates in the Supreme Court said there was other evidence which showed the mistake was inadvertent, and they allowed the recount to begin. Ballots were opened in all 72 counties, and each one is being checked to make sure the voters’ intents were clear. They’re then being counted for a second time – some by hand, and some by machine. Almost one-and-a-half million Supreme Court ballots were cast statewide, and a canvass showed that incumbent David Prosser defeated challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg by less than one-half of one-percent. By law, the recount is supposed to be finished by May ninth. But the county clerk in Madison said Wednesday she doubted they would meet the deadline. Clerk Karen Peters says 182-thousand ballots must be checked – and her staff believes that 13 days won’t be enough. If that becomes clear by next week, state officials say they’ll ask a judge for an extension in the places that need it. The Government Accountability Board says it will provide daily updates on a special page of its Web site, which you can access through Wisconsin-Dot-Gov. This is the third statewide recount in Wisconsin history.

BD Aldermanic Vacancy Filings Due Friday

4/28/11 - Residents in Beaver Dam’s Fourth Ward interested in filling the vacant aldermanic seat have until the close of business Friday to submit a letter of interest. The seat is open because of the death of Alderman Howard Abel who passed away in March. Paperwork can be obtained during normal business hours from the City Clerk’s Office which is located in the Municipal Building at 205 South Lincoln Avenue. The term expires next April.

More Oversight of Family Care Recommended

4/28/11 - A Wisconsin program that provides long-term care to low-income elderly and disabled people needs more oversight from state officials. That’s what the Legislative Audit Bureau said Wednesday about Family-Care. The auditors said it’s hard to measure how cost-effective the program is – but more scrutiny is necessary, and Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith says he agrees. Among other things, the audit showed that four administrators of managed-care groups which provide Family Care services made over 200-thousand-dollars last year. Smith said he agreed such compensation needed to be reviewed. Family-Care was started during the Doyle years, and it now runs in 53 of the state’s 72 counties. It serves low-income adults with physical or developmental disabilities, and those who are elderly and frail. It cost taxpayers 936-million dollars last year.

Veterans’ Affairs Board Asks Legislature For Changes

4/28/11 - The Wisconsin Veterans’ Affairs Board has asked legislators to make three major changes in the proposed state budget. The board objects to Governor Scott Walker’s plan to apply the state’s tax on nursing home beds to the state-owned veterans’ homes at King and Union Grove. Board member Marv Freedman said the tax was waived in all previous budgets – and it might cost some an extra 22-hundred-dollars a year to those who pay privately. The veterans’ board also opposed the idea of having a private firm manage the new veterans’ home in Chippewa Falls. And it took issue with the governor’s plan to split U-W Madison from the rest of the university system. The panel said it might let Madison avoid complying with the state G-I bill that gives free tuition to eligible veterans. One issue the board has not touched is a separate bill that would basically turn the vets’ panel into an advisory body instead of a policy-setting group. Assembly Republican Kevin Petersen of Waupaca has proposed letting the governor appoint the Veterans’ Affairs secretary instead of the board. The board would also be expanded from seven members to nine, and would remain appointees of the governor. The board fired him in late 2009, soon after he came home from a tour of duty in Iraq. A public hearing will be held today (Th) on Petersen’s bill.

Standoff Suspect Was Not In House

4/28/11 - The 52-year-old Campbellsport man who sparked a 10 hour standoff with Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies and Campbellsport Police Monday night was not exactly where authorities though he was. Sheriff Mick Fink says the standoff in the Village ended when he saw the man walking up a sidewalk to surrender. After firing a shot off from a handgun during an argument with his girlfriend the man apparently left the residence entirely before officers were put in place for the standoff. Fink says thinking the incident may have involved alcohol use they were willing to take all the time they needed for things to cool down. The gun was discharged shortly before 10pm Monday night and the man turned himself in shortly after 8am Tuesday morning.

Top Stories, April 27th

Darling, Vos Vow No Tax Increases, No Service Cuts

4/27/11 - The two Republicans who chair the state Legislature’s finance committee vowed Tuesday to re-write the proposed budget without raising taxes or cutting vital services. Robin Vos and Alberta Darling made the promise today, as they kicked off weeks of meetings to review G-O-P Governor Scott Walker’s spending proposals. As always, the most controversial decisions will come at the end of their review – just before lawmakers vote on the two-year package. That includes the plan to scale back the Senior-Care prescription drug program – splitting the U-W Madison campus from the rest of the university system – and including limits on public union collective bargaining which are now tied up in the courts. The finance panel will try to arrange those votes by mid-June, so the budget can take effect July first as scheduled.

Cowles Recall Petitions To Be Filed

4/27/11 - State Democrats say petitions will be submitted Thursday to order a recall election against Senate Republican Rob Cowles of Green Bay. State Democratic spokesman Graeme Zielinski says more than enough signatures have been gathered. Just under 16-thousand valid signatures are needed to force a recall election against Cowles. He would be the sixth G-O-P senator in which recall petitions were filed against – along with three Democrats. They’re all on the carpet for their actions connected with the bill to limit public union bargaining powers. Meanwhile, recall efforts have failed against two Democratic senators. Petitioners did not file signatures by a deadline of yesterday against Fred Risser of Madison and Lena Taylor of Milwaukee. The two senators who escaped recall efforts are among the most secure members of the Senate. Both Risser and Taylor were unopposed when they ran for re-election in 2008 in heavily Democratic districts. Risser is the nation’s longest-serving lawmaker in his 55th year in office. Taylor has been in the Legislature for almost a decade.

Walker To Talk School Vouchers In DC

4/27/11 - Governor Scott Walker will speak to a national group in Washington next month about Wisconsin’s private school choice program. He’ll address the American Federation for Children on May ninth. The meeting will attract about 300 supporters of school choice. Walker’s proposed state budget would expand the numbers and types of students who can get state-funded vouchers to attend private schools. Until now, only poor youngsters in the city of Milwaukee could take advantage of the program. But the Republican Walker wants to remove the income limits, let students attend any private school in Milwaukee County instead of just the city, and end the requirement that the private schools give the statewide achievement tests that public school students must take.

BDUSD Mulling Building Closing Feasibility Study

4/27/11 - The Beaver Dam School District may conduct a feasibility study to help determine the future of their current buildings. There has been talk in recent years of possibly closing the two rural elementary schools, Trenton and South Beaver Dam. Superintendent Steve Vessey says the study would delve into that without targeting specific schools. Vessey says the study will also tell them where the kids would fit if they were to close a building. The board also has to take into consideration the expensive maintenance needs at the two rural schools. At their meeting next month, the school board is expected to review the costs and companies that could perform the study. If approved, it would take about six to eight weeks for the results.

Horicon Replanting Trees From Maple Street Project

4/27/11 - Horicon is spending most if its tree budget for this year replacing trees that had been removed as part of last years reconstruction of Maple Street. Director of Public Works Dave Magnussen asked the council last night to begin including tree replacement in the budget of future street projects. He says the tree budget is too small to replant trees after reconstruction and still plant trees as part of an annual replacement cycle. Mayor James Grigg says they will include the costs in future street project budgets, but it’s up to the full council to decide if the funding will stay there.

Nehls Urges County A Detour Compliance

4/27/11 - Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls is reminding motorists to abide by the road closure signs on County Road A. In his regular newspaper column, Nehls says the detour for the summer long project is well marked. County A from State Highway 33 to Oak Grove is expected to remain closed until mid-July. The detour takes motorists from State Highway 26 through Juneau to Highway 33. The fine for violating the road closure sign is $175 and three demerit points against your license.

String of Mailbox Vandalism Reported

4/27/11 - At least eight residents in three different towns reported their mailbox had been vandalized during the overnight hours of Sunday into Monday. Dodge County Sheriff’s Patrol Captain Molly Soblewski says they received reports of mailboxes being damaged in the towns of Lomira, Leroy and Theresa. Soblewski says they did catch a break as one of the homeowners recognized a vehicle in the area and they are pursuing that lead. The vandalism went beyond just damaging the mailbox as the subjects left behind sand, rocks and other dirt.

Elvis’ Wild Ride Opening Delayed

4/27/11 - If you want to ride the same roller-coaster that Elvis Presley loved, you’ll have to wait. Green Bay officials say it’s too damp to start-up the Zippin Pippin roller coaster on May 7 as scheduled. The tentative start-up date is now May 21, but Mayor Jim Schmitt said it could be sooner if the final preparations can be completed. Officials say a cold and wet spring has delayed tests of the new ride, training for staff members, and preparation work at the site. City public works officials say they need to make sure that all is safe. The city bought the roller coaster from officials in Memphis.

Top Stories, April 26th

Dodge County Recount Price Tag is $8000

4/26/11 - The first statewide recall in more than 20 years gets underway Wednesday and Dodge County Clerk Karen Gibson feels it will take the full 13 days allotted to complete. Incumbent Supreme Court Jusitice David Prosser beat challenger Joanne Kloppenburg by about 7300 votes and her campaign asked for a recount, which will be paid for by the state. In Dodge County, more than 22,000 ballots were cast and now Gibson and her staff must go through and verify that all of the numbers add up. She says many of the ballots will then be run through the electronic voting machine again. However, ballots cast on the touch screens must be counted one-by-one. The total cost of the recount is expected to be around $8,000.

Hartford Republican Wants Earlier Election

4/26/11 - A public hearing will be held Wednesday on a bill to move Wisconsin’s fall partisan primaries back by one month, to the second Tuesday of August. Assembly Republican Don Pridemore of Hartford proposed the bill, which he says would make several election reforms. The measure would end the ability to choose one party instead of picking all of its candidates. But Pridemore says it would not end the 30-year-old practice of letting voters register at the polls – something many conservatives say is needed to reduce the risk of voter fraud. Wisconsin has been under pressure to change its mid-September primary date because of a new federal law that requires troops and other overseas residents to get their absentee ballots within 45 days of a November election. The state got around the requirement last year by having a longer deadline for overseas ballots to arrive after the elections.

To Phone Or Not To Phone

4/26/11 - Now that cell phones are getting smarter, some Wisconsin schools are thinking twice about making kids go without them. The Eau Claire School Board is considering changes in a student ban on cell phones that’s been in place since 2004. And schools in Superior, Wausau, and La Crosse have updated their policies. Kelly Meyers of the Wisconsin School Administrators says her office has received more requests for sample policies on cell phone use. Currently in Beaver Dam, students can have their cell phones with them at school but can’t use them in class. Superintendent Steve Vessey says they’ve had ongoing conversations about how they could implement the devices in the classroom. Meanwhile, in Eau Claire, they would still be banned in restrooms, locker rooms, and during tests. But Superintendent Ron Hielman says today’s smart phones with Internet access can be a teaching tool – and Eau Claire’s proposed policy would let students use their phones in study halls, lunch, and classes if teachers allow them. But Board member Bob Janke still favors a total ban. He says he can’t point to any valid research which shows that cell phones enhance the educational process. But Meyers says the trend is still toward allowing them – especially as statistics show that 50-percent of learning will be on-line.

Woman Accused Of Smuggling Cocaine Into WCI

4/26/11 - A Milwaukee woman is accused of smuggling cocaine into the Waupun Correctional Institution. Krystal Robinson is charged with a felony count of Delivering Illegal Articles to an Inmate. The 23-year-old reportedly brought the cocaine into the prison last April, folded in paper and given to an inmate like they were passing a note. Another inmate alerted corrections officers to the scheme and they were waiting with a search warrant to strip search Robinson when she visited a couple weeks later. There was no more contraband found on Robinson but during an interview she is said to have admitted to bringing in the cocaine and said she was pressured by the inmate. A signature bond was set at $1000 yesterday and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June. If convicted, Robinson could spend up to three-and-a-half years in prison.

Mayville Man Accused of Sparking Chase

4/26/11 - A Mayville man is accused of sparking a police chase. Matthew Rantala is charged with a felony charge of Attempting To Flee or Elude a Traffic Officer in connection with an alleged pursuit last week. Authorities in Mayville say the Rantala vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed on North Main Street with a headlight out and the dome light on when they turned around to initial a traffic stop. The 36-year-old allegedly sped to County Road TW where his eastbound car entered the northbound ditch, struck a culvert and went airborne. The vehicle made it back onto the roadway but then entered the southbound ditch where it got stuck in the snow. Officers executed a high risk traffic stop and the suspect surrendered at gunpoint. Rantala is being held on a $2500 cash bond and will be back in court on Thursday. If convicted, he could spend up to three-and-a-half years in prison.

Fondy Man Charged With Hit and Run Injury

4/26/11 - A Fond du Lac man is accused of running into a car last month and leaving the scene of the accident. Joseph Krezman Jr. is charged with a felony count of Hit and Run Involving Injury, which carries a maximum sentence of nine months in jail upon conviction. According to the criminal complaint, the 23-year-old passed a slowing car on Highway 49 and then struck that car as it turned left. A passenger sustained soreness to her neck. Krezman allegedly sped away but the other car followed him and he was apprehended a short time later. He denied any knowledge of being in an accident. A signature bond was set at $1000 yesterday and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for early June.

Wausau Woman Fined Over Laxative Cookies

4/26/11 - A Wausau woman admits her “stupid practical joke” was a bad idea. Becky Riiser has apologized in court, after being fined 300 dollars for putting a laxative in cookies she gave to her college instructor. The “Marshfield News-Herald” reports the 39 year old woman pleaded no contest to the charges, admitting she used Ex-Lax in the cookie batter. She gave the cookies to her UW-Marathon County biology professor. The teacher was warned by another student about the laxative-laced cookies, but he had apparently already eaten one and was slightly ill the next day.

Top Stories April 25th

Fire Damages a Home in Beaver Dam

4/25/11 - The siding of a home on Scott Street in Beaver Dam suffered significant damage when a fire broke out yesterday morning. Officials with the Beaver Dam Fire Department say neighbors noticed the flames around 10:20 a-m and attempted to put them out with a garden hose. When firefighters arrived on scene the flames had spread to the soffit but they were able to get the blaze under control. It’s believed the fire started in a garbage can where the homeowner had put hot coals from his grill the night before. No one was hurt, and the fire department cleared the scene within an hour. The home belongs to Donald Gabuthuler.

Gas Prices Up

4/25/11 - Gas prices in the state are up an average of 3-cents over the past week to $3.95 per gallon. That’s up $1.07 from last year and 37-cents from last month. In Beaver Dam, Waupun and Watertown a gallon of unleaded regular is $3.89. It’s $3.95 in Hartford and can be had for $3.87 in Fond du Lac. The high price in the state is $4.13 in Pleasant Prairie while the low price is $3.81 in Sheboygan. The national average is up 3-cents to $3.83. That’s an increase of 28-cents since last month and 98-cents higher than this day one year ago.

Board Gets First Look at Redistricting Plan

4/25/11 - Supervisors on the Dodge County Board would represent roughly 370 more people per district under a plan seen for the first time last week. Every ten years the county is redistricted based on census information. Making matters a bit more complicated for Dodge County is the fact the board eliminated four supervisor positions last year leaving them with 33. In the tentative plan, the district that covers the town of Hustisford has the most people at 2,821, while the district that makes up the town of Emmett would have the smallest population at 2,559. A public hearing on the new map will be held early next month and it’s possible the board could approve the final plan later in May.

Polls Shows Support for Wind Energy

4/25/11 - A poll of Wisconsin residents finds strong support for increasing the use of wind energy, even if doing so would raise electricity bills several dollars per month. The Wisconsin Public Radio poll was released Friday. It shows that 77 percent of respondents want to see the state invest more in wind energy. Reasons included decreasing the nation's reliance on foreign oil and helping the environment. A majority, 69 percent, wouldn't mind eight to 10 wind-energy machines being placed closed to where they live, and 79 percent favor placing the machines offshore in Lake Michigan. More than 80-percent of the current turbines in the state are in either Dodge or Fond du Lac Counties.

More Counties Looking at Sales Tax

4/25/11 - Ten of Wisconsin’s 72 counties do not have their own sales tax. But that could change, due to rising costs and big cuts in state aid that Governor Scott Walker put in his budget for the next two years. Officials in Kewaunee and Sheboygan counties both have large deficits next year – and a half-percent sales tax would more than wipe out those shortfalls. Some counties take pride in not having their own sales tax, and it won’t be popular to change that. But Mark O’Connell of the Wisconsin Counties Association said they might not have a choice, due to Walker’s state aid cuts in the face of rising fuel costs and employee wages. The state gave counties the option of having a sales tax to give property tax relief to homes and businesses. But a U-W Extension report from 1999 said almost all the counties kept the money for themselves. Some counties, like Wood, fought off the idea for years before giving in. The sales tax for every county that has one is a half-percent though several have an additional charge to help pay for Miller Park or Lambeau Field.

Walker, Doyle Both Claim Added Jobs

4/25/11 - Governor Scott Walker vows to create a quarter-million jobs in the next four years. And he’s reportedly counting 125 jobs his predecessor announced last December. The Republican Walker went to Eau Claire last week to announce a 625-thousand-dollar road-building grant at Curt Manufacturing, one of the nation’s largest makers of trailer-hitches and towing products. He said it would create 125 jobs. And as Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice reports, they’re the same 125 jobs Democrat Jim Doyle announced before he left office. Doyle’s former Commerce secretary, Aaron Olver, put a dig into Walker by saying it’s great to see him support one of the projects of the Doyle administration. Olver now works for the city of Madison. Curt Manufacturing is building a warehouse-and-logistics facility, and it promises to add the new jobs by 2014. Company president Curt Tambornino said he submitted an application for state assistance last summer, but he wouldn’t say which governor was primarily responsible for the new jobs. Walker’s Commerce secretary, Paul Jadin, admits that the previous administration had a hand in approving the grant. But Jadin said it wasn’t finalized until this year, after Walker took office – and he said it’s a company’s decision when to announce a grant. But Tambornino said it was Walker who initiated last week’s news conference.

Body Pulled from Lake Near Oshkosh

4/25/11 - A body pulled from a lake near Oshkosh was that of a snowmobiler missing since mid-March. Authorities said 44-year-old Shawn Talbot of Sullivan was seen by a fisherman Saturday afternoon on Lake Butte-des-Morts – and Winnebago County sheriff’s divers later pulled the body from the water. Witnesses saw Talbot drive his snowmobile into open water on March 13th. Rescue teams found the machine at the time – but they could not find Talbot’s body.

Activities and Services Guide on Doorsteps Today

4/25/11 - The 2011 Beaver Dam Community Activities and Services Summer Guide will be arriving on all city doorsteps today (Mon). The guide details all recreational activities, and includes club and sports schedules, lesson times, registration information and related costs. There is also a schedule of community events, the line-up for the “Concert in the Park” series, a complete list of park amenities and shelter and equipment rental costs, beach information and boat launch fees. Senior Center programs and activities are also included. The Summer Guide will be wrapped in the free Daily Citizen Shopper that is delivered to all Beaver Dam addresses and can also be obtained at the Senior Center and Recreation Building at 114 East Third Street.

Hutson Family Member Donates Recordings

4/25/11 - The nephew of Green Bay Packers great Don Hutson has donated a number of rare recordings from his uncle's radio program to the team's Hall of Fame. Steve Hutson of Mequon offered up three unusual vinyl-coated aluminum records. An audio engineer converted the recordings to digital MP3 files. The Packers Hall of Fame unveiled the donations Friday at Lambeau Field. Don Hutson played for Green Bay from 1935 to 1945. He hosted a radio program in the late 1940s. The recordings include his commentary of Packers football in 1949. They'll be added to the team Hall of Fame's archives of Packers history. Packers Hall of Fame archivist Tom Murphy says since the clips are digital they can be made available to members through an online archive and to fans as a digital download.

Top Stories April 24th

Polls Show People Not Optimistic About the Economy

4/24/11- Wisconsinites are not upbeat about the economy. A poll of 400 people by Wisconsin Public Radio-and-Saint Norbert College shows that only 18-percent believe the state’s economy is better than a year ago. Forty-five percent say it’s worse, while 38-percent say the national economy has gotten worse. Only a quarter of those answering the poll said their personal finances have improved over the last year – and only 41-percent think they’ll be better off financially in a year from now. That’s down from 55-percent last fall. Seven-of-every-10 people say the nation’s heading in the wrong direction, but most don’t blame President Obama. The poll gives him a 52-percent approval rating in Wisconsin, up 10-points from last fall. Forty-six percent said they approve of G-O-P Governor Scott Walker. The poll has a five-percent margin of error either way. It was taken between April fifth and Monday of this week.

Tax Credits Awarded to Build Affordable Housing

4/24/11- State officials have awarded 17-million-dollars in tax credits to build affordable housing throughout Wisconsin. Twenty-nine projects were funded by the state’s Housing-and-Economic Development Authority. Governor Scott Walker announced the grants last week during visits to two of the larger projects in Oshkosh and Milwaukee. He said the tax credits would help build 14-hundred units of affordable housing statewide – and about 12-hundred construction jobs would be created in the process. Walker said the projects would help meet local housing needs, and stimulate economic growth. He said the tax credits allow the construction of projects that developers might not able to finance on their own.

Waupun Woman Accused of Dealing Heroin

4/24/11- A 26-year-old woman has been charged with dealing heroin in Waupun. Jessica Moede made her initial appearance late last week on two counts of manufacture and delivery of heroin. Authorities say the Waupun woman is accused of selling nearly two grams of heroin to an undercover informant twice last summer. Moede is due back in court next month. District Attorney Kurt Klomberg told the Beaver Dam Common Council last week that there was virtually no heroin in Dodge County three years ago but it has now become his office’s top priority.

Local Law Enforcement to Participate in Drug Take-Back Day

4/24/11- More and more Dodge County communities are announcing that they will be participating in the nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day next Saturday. The effort on April 30 is aimed at removing drugs from the streets and promoting the proper disposal of prescription medications. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more Americans abuse prescription drugs than the number using cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined. The Beaver Dam Police Department will be collecting pharmaceuticals from 10am to 2pm in the department’s parking lot located just off Washington Street. The Watertown, Waterloo, Waupun, Horicon and Juneau Police departments are also hosting drug drops. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Medications should be brought in their original containers with personal identification removed. Drug take-back programs are intended to reduce the amount of drugs available for theft, or accidental poisoning but are also helpful in keeping those meds out of the water supply. Last year, during the first “Take Back,” the Drug Enforcement Agency collected 121 tons of drugs at 4100 sites operated by the DEA’s state and local law enforcement partners.

Clearview to Hold an Open House

4/24/11- The public is invited to attend an open house at the new Clearview facility on June 5.Clearview serves the county’s aging population as well as those with behavioral and mental health issues and also has one of only three brain injury rehabilitation centers in the state. The $44.5 million dollar structure is being built on the site of the current Clearview South building. The wings of the 236-bed facility are being built first and the residents in the south building will be transferred to the new portion beginning in mid-June. When the new portion is complete, the remaining residents at Clearview North will be transferred. County Board Chairman Russ Kottke and Clearview Administrator Jane Hooper told us on WBEV’s Community Comment this week that the project is on-time and on-budget.

Group to Honor Tow Truck Driver

4/24/11- A group is planning to honor a tow truck driver that was killed near West Bend last week. Authorities said Dan Bobholz was pulling a vehicle out of a ditch on Highway 41 when he was hit. The State Patrol said a Washington County sheriff’s deputy was directing traffic when an S-U-V hit the officer’s squad car, and then Bobholz. The victim was then pushed against his tow truck – and he fell onto the road where he was then hit by a passing semi-truck. This Tuesday at 4pm a large group of tow trucks will be gathering on the frontage road of Friendly Drive, near the intersection of Highway 45 and Highway D in West Bend to pay respect to a fellow tower in a small procession to the funeral home.

25% of Homes in WI Don’t Have a Land-line

4/24/11- Have you ditched your land-line? One-of-every-four Wisconsinites have, according to a new federal report. The National Center for Health Statistics says 25-percent of Wisconsin adults lived in homes with only cellular phones. That’s as of June of last year. And it’s up from 15-percent the year before. Wisconsin is in the middle-of-the-pack in this trend. Arkansas has the country’s biggest percentage of wireless-only homes at 35. But in Rhode Island, only 13-percent of residents have ditched their landlines. Within the Badger State, folks in the Milwaukee region are more likely to use cell phones only. That’s true for 31-percent of Milwaukee County residents, compared to 24-percent elsewhere in Wisconsin.

MN and WI Officials Concerned About Carp

4/24/11- A 27-pound bighead carp was caught this past week on the Saint Croix River on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. And officials are concerned that the invasive fish will spread, and cause serious damage to native fish. It’s the seventh time a bighead carp was found in the rivers that border Minnesota – but it’s only the second caught in the Saint Croix, which runs north of where the Mississippi breaks off at Prescott. The first bighead carp was caught in 1996 on the Saint Croix. Luke Skinner of the Minnesota D-N-R said the latest fish was caught upstream from the first one. He says physical barriers are an effective way to slow them down. And the best spots for that include Taylors Falls on the Saint Croix, and the Coon Rapids Dam on the Mississippi River. The bighead carp does not pose as much of a danger as the leaping Asian silver carp. But experts say it destroys habitats by eating vast amounts of the plankton that native fish rely upon.

Waupun to Gauge Interest in Community Center

4/24/11- Leaders in Waupun say there will be a tour of the vacant Jefferson Elementary building next weekend for groups and organization interested in having a role in its future development. Officials say they are hoping to gauge the public’s interest in turning the building into a multi-purpose community center. The school was closed at the end of the 2008-2009 school year as a cost saving measure. The walk-though will begin at 9 a-m on April 30th.

Bulk Pickup Begins Tomorrow in BD

4/24/11- Bulk garbage pick-up for Beaver Dam residents begins tomorrow (Monday). Director of Facilities David Stoiser says bulk pick-up will continue through Friday, May 6 for residents who receive city-provided waste collection services from Veolia. Stoiser says the collection regulations are the same as in the past. Bulk waste can be placed on the curb no sooner than 24 hours prior to each collection and by 7am on the day of pick-up. Bulk waste is defined as, but not limited to, furniture, wooden doors and windows and rolled carpet, not exceeding 4’ to 6’ in length. No metal items like bed springs, doors, windows, appliances and pipes will be collected. Also, they do not accept bundled or loose piles of lumber or building materials; those items must be broken down and placed in the weekly collection cart. The next bulk pick-up will be the first waste collection day of November.

Top Stories April 23rd

Statewide Smoking Ban Compliance Spotty

4/23/11 - Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls says about half of the bars they checked for compliance with the statewide smoking ban this week have freely allowed smoking. Nehls says they have been asking business owners for voluntary compliance. Bar checks on Monday resulted in two violations in the Township of Rubicon where patrons were said to be openly smoking. Deputies conducted as many as eight more checks Thursday night in the Horicon and Lomira areas, and he says that turned up more instances of patrons and bartenders “blatantly” smoking. Deputies have also made some arrests during the checks. Last night a man was arrested for possession of marijuana and another on an existing arrest warrant. Another man was temporarily detained after he showed aggression towards the deputies conducting the checks. Other violations noted included serving already intoxicated patrons. The Sheriff Department is working with the Dodge County Tavern League in an effort to educate their membership and gain voluntary compliance. Nehls says many of the complaints have come from other businesses. Nehls stresses that they are looking for voluntary compliance with these smoking checks but will begin to issue formal citations if there are repeat violations.

Poll Shows Residents Skeptical of Walker’s Intentions

4/23/11 - Polling done by St. Norbert College finds Wisconsin residents skeptical about the reasons for Governor Scott Walker's efforts to remove collective-bargaining rights for most public employees. Wisconsin PUblic Radio commissioned the two-week canvass. Governor Walker has said the law on collective bargaining will help balance the state's budget and aid local governments dealing with deep cuts in state funding. Pollsters found 57 percent of those contacted thing the effort was more about reducing the power of unions, while just 31 percent say it's about dealing with budget shortfalls. Another 59 percent say they disapproved of state Senate Democrats leaving the state to delay action on the controversial measure. Four hundred Wisconsin residents were contacted. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus five percent.

Judge Denies Request for Extension

4/23/11 - The judge in the lawsuit that temporarily put Wisconsin's new collective bargaining plan on hold has denied a request to delay the case. The Dane County District Attorney asked for an extra week to file briefs in the case, citing staff shortages among other reasons. Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi said she'd normally grant the request, but called this “the exceptional case”. She noted the Walker Administration has asked the state Supreme Court to take it up directly. Sumi's order means the DA and lawyers for Republican legislators will have to file their briefs and replies by May 23rd. It's unclear how the case could proceed after that, but unless something changes, the collective bargaining plan remains on hold.

8 Senators Facing Recall

4/23/11 - Sixteen Wisconsin state Senators are being targeted for recall, eight Democrats for leaving town to delay vote on the budget repair bill and eight Republicans for backing the measure and its union cutbacks. So far petitions have been submitted to recall eight senators, five Republicans and three Democrats. Governor Scott Walker says in the past lawmakers have faced recall elections after instances of misconduct in office and not over a single vote. Walker says if you have a recall after every vote, you could have those continuously, one-after-another-after-another, and it makes it very hard to get things done. The Republican Walker says some could argue that the move by Senate Democrats to flee the state for three weeks was misconduct in office, but that will be up to voters to decide.

Some Offering Incentives for Signing Petitions

4/23/11 - Organizers of recall efforts against two Democratic senators are accused of offering payment for signatures on petitions, but there may not be anything wrong it. State Senator Dave Hansen says an ad on Craigslist offered 50 cents to people who would sign a petition to recall him from office. And, a resident of Senator Robert Wirch’s district reported a bartender was trading free shots for recall signatures. Reid Magney with the state Government Accountability Board says those offers don’t appear to actually break any laws. Magney says GAB officials reviewed state laws and found no prohibition on offering anything in exchange for a signature on a recall petition. He says it would only be illegal if payments were being made to vote in an election.

WI DA’s Layoffs or Furloughs Would be Illegal

4/23/11 - Wisconsin district attorneys say the state can't lay off or furlough assistant prosecutors. The Walker administration had said there could be statewide layoffs if assistant prosecutors didn't agree to take six more furlough days by June 30. The DAs say doing that without their consent would be illegal and could substantially impact community safety. A letter sent to the executive director of the Office of State Employment Relations says neither that office nor the Department of Administration has the power to lay off prosecutors without the consent of their elected supervisors, the county district attorneys.

Bill Would Simplify Deer Hunting Rules

4/23/11 - The Wisconsin Assembly Natural Resources Committee takes up a bill simplifying the state's deer season next week. Hunters could take a buck without having to get a doe first under the Republican-sponsored legislation. It would eliminate requirements that hunters have to kill an antlerless deer before they take their first buck. It would also do away with the early season gun hunts before the traditional nine-day November hunt. If it passes, the new rules would be a big victory for Wisconsin deer hunters who have complained for years about earn-a-buck and a complex grouping of early season hunts. The DNR has said in the past that earn-a-buck and the extra hunts are important to keeping the state's deer herd under control.

Authorities Confirm Military Training

4/23/11 - Fond du Lac and Green Lake County dispatchers report getting a lot of phone calls Thursday morning from people worried about their homes shaking. Several people called a local radio station about it. Fond du Lac Deputy Police Chief Kevin Lemke got confirmation that fighter jets were training in the area. Lt. Colonel Jackie Guthrie, the Director of Public Affairs at the Wisconsin National Guard said pilots were flying maneuvers in the area, but couldn’t confirm whether they caused any sonic booms. The jets that took off from Volk Field were supposedly in an area about 30 miles west of Fond du Lac when the reports were being called into area law enforcement. The shaking from the sonic booms was reportedly felt from Beaver Dam to Two Rivers.

Local Journalist Passes Away

4/23/11 - A longtime journalist who worked for the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen for 35-years has passed away. Connie Dornfeld was a fixture on the city of Horicon beat and was well known throughout the county for her work. Dornfeld died on Thursday at Marvin’s Manor in Horicon.

Top Stories, April 22nd

Grulke Asks Board To Review Complaints

4/22/11 - A secretary at the Beaver Dam High School is asking the school board to change how they deal with discrimination complaints. Cheryl Grulke, who is currently embroiled in an open records lawsuit against the district, recently asked the school board to change the policy to allow employees, with what she called unresolved discrimination complaints, to address the board directly. The board has hired an outside consultant to go through all of their policies. Board President Bev Beal-Loeck says they’ve known for some time that they needed to be updated and they hope to have the revisions in place by the end of the year.

Attempted Break-In At Reeseville Pharmacy

4/22/11 - Authorities arrested a 19-year-old woman Thursday after she allegedly tried to break in to the Village Pharmacy in Reeseville. Sheriff Todd Nehls says deputies responded to an alarm at the business around 1:45am, and with the help of the upstairs neighbor, were able to locate the woman within an hour. Nehls says she is facing charges of criminal damage to property, attempted burglary and operating while intoxicated. She is also a suspect in a burglary at the same pharmacy a couple of weeks ago.

GAB Considers Outside Investigator

4/22/11 - Wisconsin elections’ officials said Thursday they would not back away from their investigation into Waukesha County’s handling of the Supreme Court election. JoAnne Kloppenburg – who has asked for a recount after losing the election – said the Government Accountability Board is too close to County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus to conduct an objective investigation of her activities. And she asked for an outside investigator to look into the clerk’s “actions and words.” Accountability board director Kevin Kennedy says his agency is required by law to probe government irregularities – and while they do employ outside investigators, they work under the agency’s direction. Spokesman Reid Magney said it would be up to the full board to decide whether to grant Kloppenburg’s request and hire an outside investigator. The chief of staff for Waukesha County’s executive says Kloppenburg’s request is premature, because the accountability board is still investigating Nickolaus. The board said this week it found no major irregularities with the county’s votes, after the clerk omitted Brookfield’s votes in her Election Night tally. A canvass uncovered those votes. And the board said it was still looking into other parts of the clerk’s operations.

First Democrat Recall Petitions Filed

4/22/11 - The first recall petitions were filed Thursday against Democratic Wisconsin senators. Petitioners gave thousands of signatures to the state Government Accountability Board to order recall elections against Dave Hansen of Green Bay, Jim Holperin of Conover, and Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie. The Hansen group was the first to arrive at the board’s Madison office. Organizers for all three attempts said they got five-to-six-thousand more signatures than the minimum required to hold recall votes. The board now has 31 days to determine if there are enough valid signatures to order the elections. But officials say they’ll seek an extension to finish all the paperwork – and to schedule all the elections on the same day. Meanwhile, a major announcement was planned today by a group that’s trying to recall Senate Finance chairwoman Alberta Darling of River Hills. Petitions have already been filed for elections to recall four Republican senators – Dan Kapanke, Randy Hopper, Sheila Harsdorf, and Luther Olsen. State Democrats plan to spend hundreds-of-thousands of dollars on those races, to try and win back the majority in the Senate. Democrats need to gain three seats in this year’s recall votes to break the G-O-P’s total control of the legislative and executive branches which voters gave them last November. The Republicans are targeted for voting in favor of the limits on public union bargaining. The Democrats are targeted for leaving Madison for three weeks to try and stop a vote on those limits.

Woman Arraigned For Legislator Threats

4/22/11 - A Dane County woman pleaded innocent Thursday to two misdemeanor charges that she threatened 16 state legislators. 26-year-old Katherine Windels of Cross Plains entered her pleas to counts of making e-mail threats. The judge will review the status of her case May 16th, and pleas are expected later to two related felony charges. Prosecutors said Windels sent an e-mail threat to Senate Republican Rob Cowles of Green Bay on March 9th, the day Republican senators voted to pass limits of collective bargaining by public unions without any of the 14 Democrats present. Another e-mail threat was reportedly sent later to 15 other G-O-P lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau. Windels is free on a signature bond, but the court ordered her not to visit the State Capitol, communicate with the targets of the e-mail threats or the owner of an account that was allegedly used. Also, a judge said Windels cannot use the Internet except for work, school, or finding a job.

Jury Finds Kuenzi In Pedestrian Fatality

4/22/11 - A jury in Waupaca County has found a man guilty of lying at a John Doe hearing about a 2004 hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian. Jurors deliberated for just over an hour Wednesday, before convicting 25-year-old Walter Engel of perjury. He’s scheduled to be sentenced May second. Engel was in a pick-up truck driven by Rory Kuenzi. It struck-and-killed Kevin McCoy as he was leaving a nearby underage drinking party. Authorities said Kuenzi stopped and pushed McCoy’s body into a ditch. But Engel testified at the John Doe hearing that Kuenzi never stopped after hitting McCoy. That allowed Kuenzi to claim that he assumed he struck a deer. Kuenzi was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crash. The investigation was dormant until Kuenzi made statewide headlines by allegedly killing six deer in a stolen snowmobile in early 2009. Kuenzi’s role in the 2004 crash came up, and the state Justice Department decided to pick up that probe. Kuenzi’s deer charges are still pending.

Fighter Jets Prompt 911 Calls

4/22/11 - Area law enforcement got a lot of phone calls from residents worried about their homes shaking Thursday morning. There was plenty of speculation as to the cause, but Fond du Lac Police got confirmation from the Federal Aviation Administration that fighter jets were training in the area. The same thing occurred in the region a couple of years ago when some fighter jets were training above Lake Winnebago. The shaking from the sonic booms was reportedly felt from Beaver Dam to Two Rivers.

Jeff Hall Loses Draw In Council Race

4/22/11 - Take a card, any card. That’s how a City Council election was decided in Oshkosh. Tom Pech Junior led Jeff Hall by 14 votes after the Election Night tally. Hall asked for a recount – and it showed that he and Pech each had 54-hundred-90 votes for the last of three Council seats. So by law, the winner was chosen by a drawing – and both candidates agreed to use a deck of cards. Pech won the Council seat by pulling the queen-of-spades. Hall came up short with a three-of-spades, but all is not lost for him. Another alderman still needs to be elected to replace Burk Tower, who was elected as the mayor of Oshkosh. And Hall says he’ll run for that seat when the election is scheduled.

Top Stories, April 21st

Kloppenburg Requests Recall

4/21/11 - Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg requested a statewide recount Wednesday of the ballots cast in the Supreme Court election 15 days ago. And Kloppenburg asked the Government Accountability Board to have a special investigator look into Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus. It was the clerk's error that took away Kloppenburg's apparent victory of 204 votes from Election Night. Nickolaus forgot to include Brookfield's votes in her original tally. And when it turned up in the county's canvass, incumbent Justice David Prosser took a 75-hundred-vote lead. After all the counties were canvassed, Prosser had a 73-hundred-16 vote victory.

Wisconsin taxpayers will cover the cost of the recount, since the margin of Kloppenburg's defeat was less than one-half of one-percent. The next step is for Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is to appoint a judge to hear whatever legal concerns are raised about individual ballots during what's expected to a long recount process.

Earlier this week, Prosser and his campaign advisors said the incumbent's margin of victory was such that Kloppenburg would not have much of a chance of overtaking him. They called the recount "frivolous," and said they would do what they could to stop it.

Should Prosser's victory be upheld, the Supreme Court's 4-3 conservative majority would remain in place. Observers had predicted an easy win for Prosser. But that was before public union supporters got behind Kloppenburg, with the hope of making it easier to kill the law that limits collective bargaining once and for all. As a result, the supposedly neutral Supreme Court race turned out to be a partisan-style referendum on Republican Governor Scott Walker's policies.

BDPD Releases Annual Report

4/21/11 - The Beaver Dam Police Department has released their 2010 Annual Report. According to the Uniform Crime Report figures from the state, violent crime increased in Beaver Dam from three in 2009 to seven in 2010. That includes five robberies and two aggravated assaults. There were no homicides or forcible rapes last year. Property crimes decreased last year with 487 reported compared to 553 the previous year. Eighty-four (84) burglaries were reported in 2010, ten more than the previous year. There was a 16% decrease in adult arrests over the two-year period with 879 reported last year. There was 22% less juvenile arrests than in 2009 with 440 reported. The Beaver Dam Police Department continued its affiliation with the Dodge County Drug Task Force, which made 188 drug-related arrests last year, 45 more than in 2009. There were 474 traffic accidents last year, which is far below the five year average of 537. That resulted in 93 injuries. There was in one fatality on city streets last year, the first since 2006. Beaver Dam Police officers issued 1316 parking tickets generating $23,216 in revenue. Most tickets were for violation of the city’s winter parking ban during snow removal season. Calls for service from Beaver Dam to the Sheriffs Department Dispatch Center in Juneau have been down in each of the three years since the consolidation with the county. There were almost 28,000 back in 2008, close to 26,000 in 2009 and 23,700 last year.

BDPD Among Those Hosting Drug Take Back

4/21/11 - The Beaver Dam Police Department has announced that they will be one of the agencies participating in the nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day at the end of the month. The effort on April 30 is aimed at removing drugs from the streets and promoting the proper disposal of prescription medications. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more Americans abuse prescription drugs than the number using cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined. The Beaver Dam Police Department will be collecting pharmaceuticals from 10am to 2pm in the department’s parking lot located just off Washington Street. The Horicon and Juneau Police departments are also hosting drug drops. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Medications should be brought in their original containers with personal identification removed. Drug take-back programs are intended to reduce the amount of drugs available for theft, or accidental poisoning but are also helpful in keeping those meds out of the water supply. Last year, during the first “Take Back,” the Drug Enforcement Agency collected 121 tons of drugs at 4100 sites operated by the DEA’s state and local law enforcement partners.

March Unemployment Numbers Positive

4/21/11 - The jobless rate in the region, and around most of the state, decreased last month. In Dodge County, the unemployment rate was down a half percentage point from February to 8.6%. Last year at the same time it was in double digits at 11%. Columbia County was also at 8.6%, down four-tenths from February. Half-point drops were reported in Fond du Lac and Washington counties, which both stand at 7.7%. Jefferson County dropped a half point as well but rests at 9.1%. Green Lake County is one of 24 counties in the state in double digits at 10.1%. Vilas County has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 13.3%. Dane County continues to have the lowest at 5.3%. All but four of Wisconsin’s 72 counties saw their actual unemployment rates go down. Vilas, Iron, and Florence counties saw their rates go up. Lincoln County’s rate was unchanged. Meanwhile, six of Wisconsin’s 12 metro areas added jobs in March. The state’s workforce development agency is reporting that Metro Milwaukee gained 46-hundred jobs last month – bringing the total job gains to almost 17-thousand in the first three months of this year. Eau Claire added an estimated 800 jobs in March. Smaller gains were made in Appleton, Madison, Janesville, and Oshkosh. La Crosse and Wausau both lost an estimated 400 jobs last month, and Racine lost 300. Jobs held steady in Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, and Green Bay. All 12 metro areas had a drop in their unadjusted jobless rates from February-to-March.

Jury Still Out On Capitol Security Costs

4/21/11 - We still don’t know how much it cost to provide security for the demonstrations at the State Capitol in February and early March. The Walker administration said Wednesday it’s still adding up the bills – and they’re running well into the millions-of-dollars. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the state patrolled the Capitol and the surrounding area for the better part of a month. They kept a watch on demonstrators who protested the bill to limit collective bargaining by public employee unions. The state is picking up things like overtime for the local officers who came to Madison to help out. The administration department gave details of two contracts to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. One of those contracts provided various services to law enforcement – including food, ear buds for officers’ radios, and a health care provider for officers who worked for long hours. That arrangement cost two-million-dollars. Another contract called for security in the parking lots where officers parked their vehicles while at the Capitol. That deal cost almost 99-thousand dollars. Also, the paper said the state D-N-R spent 351-thousand dollars to have its wardens and other officers at the protest site.

Hopper Misprint Directs Callers To Randy Chat Line

4/21/11 - State Senate Republican Randy Hopper – who’s already under fire for voting to slash collective bargaining – is in hot water again. According to the Fond du Lac Reporter, Hopper’s newsletter for residents of his district had an incorrect number for his office phone. And those who called it reached a phone sex line with a greeting that said, “Hey there sexy guy…” As you might imagine, the state Democratic Party had a field day with this one. Party Chair Mike Tate said Hopper won’t listen to his constituents, so he’s apparently sending them someplace where “the chat lines are still open.” Hopper called it a typographical error. He wasn’t sure how many constituents saw it, but he listed a correction on his Web site saying he’s happy to respond to people’s needs. He said the newsletter was meant to highlight a bill that provides tax relief to senior citizens – but instead it’s quote, “a political game of ‘gotcha.” Hopper is one of eight G-O-P senators targeted for recall by the Democrats, for his vote in favor of the bill to restrict public union bargaining powers.

Green Bay Hotel Reservations Stagnant

4/21/11 - Green Bay hotels are normally jammed with reservation calls almost immediately after the Packer schedule is announced. But this year, lots of folks are taking a wait-and-see approach – mainly because the games might not be played if the current N-F-L owners’ lockout drags on. Jason Vanden Heuvel of the Comfort Inn in Ashwaubenon says fans don’t want to commit yet. But Kelly Eversen of the Green Bay Radisson says people will probably make reservations anyway, because they have up to two weeks to cancel at her place. Many other hotels in Titletown require a 30-day cancellation notice, and often a minimum two-night stay. Brad Toll of the Green Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau says fans won’t wait too long for fear of missing out – and he hopes the N-F-L labor situation gets settled soon. Those who offer Packer travel packages don’t expect fans to hold back. They emphasize offering refunds if the games are not played.

Tourism Secretary Says Bike Paths Important

4/21/11 - Although the governor wants to scrap funding for bicycle paths, Wisconsin’s tourism secretary says cycling will not be forgotten as a tourist attraction. Stephanie Klett made that promise at the state’s Bike Summit held this week in Madison. Klett promised to include cycling in the state’s tourist advertising – which would get boost under Governor Scott Walker’s budget for the next two years. Walker wants to increase tourist advertising from 13-million-dollars this year to 14-million in the next fiscal year, and almost 16-and-a-half million the year after that. Klett said she cannot remember a Wisconsin tourist ad that featured bicycling – and she vowed to change that. Walker’s budget plan would also eliminate two-and-a-half million dollars set aside by Democrats two years ago for bike-and-pedestrian trails. Many of the bicycling enthusiasts at the summit were planning to ask their legislators to restore that funding – and to create tougher penalties for motor vehicle drivers who kill bicyclists in traffic accidents.

Wisconsin Milk Production Outpaced By California

4/21/11 - Wisconsin dairy cows pumped out more milk last month – but the increase was not as big as the national average. Officials said the Badger State made just over two-and-a-quarter billion pounds of milk in March. That’s up one-point-three percent from a year ago. The national increase was two-point-two percent. And California, the country’s top milk producer, made three-point-one percent more. Wisconsin added six-thousand cows to its dairy herd last month, for a total of just over one-and-a-quarter million. The average cow increased its output by 15 pounds, to an average of 17-hundred-85. California only added a-thousand cows, but each one averaged 60 pounds more. Nationally, farmers made almost 17-billion pounds of milk last month, and almost 48-and-a-half billion pounds in the first three months of the year. Production in the 23 major dairy states was up two-point-four percent in March, and all but six of those states had increases from the year before.